Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Some of the issues raised by the Deputy already exist in legislation. The child care measures in my Department include term leave, for example, which quite a substantial number of people take. It allows them to take either eight, ten or 13 weeks' unpaid leave from June until the end of August to match their working arrangements with their children's summer holidays. A range of options are available across Departments and they assist and greatly help parents.

In the overall child care area, the Deputy knows that facilities are in place for people both within and outside the public service. I do not want to answer for the private sector because that is not my Department but a range of initiatives are available for people to use.

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